More Than 500 New Doctors Practising in Saskatchewan

Released on October 13, 2015

Saskatchewan residents are benefitting from improved access to physicians with the addition of more than 500 new doctors since 2007.

In addition to the overall number of physicians increasing, the number of family physicians has increased by 23 per cent, and the number of specialists has increased by nearly 35 per cent.  Rural and remote communities in Saskatchewan have also benefitted from a stable number of physicians.  Since government created the physician recruitment agency Saskdocs, nearly 190 physicians have been recruited to practice in rural and remote communities.

• A competitive compensation package for physicians – one of the best in Canada.
• The number of post-graduate physician training seats at the College of Medicine has doubled – to 120 – and the number of undergraduate medical education seats has expanded from 60 to 100.
• The Rural Family Physician Incentive Program provides recent graduates with up to $120,000 over five years if they set up practice in a community with fewer than 10,000 people. 
• Training more family medicine residents in sites outside Regina and Saskatoon (Prince Albert, Swift Current, La Ronge, North Battleford and Moose Jaw). 
• Creating the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA) program to include physicians trained from a wider range of countries.
• The Physician Rural Externship Program (PREP), that provides medical students with an opportunity for work experience in a rural community.
• A rural physician locum pool, to provide additional physician coverage and assistance to rural family physicians.